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Archive for the ‘Pittcetera’ Category

1. I don’t want to point out anything about how the Buccos are playing to start the season. I don’t want to add links to statistics or analyses. I just want to knock on wood and cross my fingers, toes, arms, legs, and eyes.

2. Is anyone else puzzled by the constant profiles of the guy who gunned down three police officers? Who is really that interested in what he thinks, where he grew up, and how he votes? Recent coverage of the shooter and his family, in the PG alone:

Believe me, I understand the desire to analyze and understand what makes a person do awful things. I watch shows about serial killers on A&E too (or at least I did when I had a house with cable in it). But how much real-time celebrity do we want to grant this guy, people?

Crazy guy, crazy family, horrible outcome. The end.

3. Why, Byron, why? No, you weren’t about to be our starting QB, but you were a helluva backup who got a lot of respect for what you did. And you got a lot of playing time for a backup dude, thanks to The Ben’s frequent dates with the injury cart.

Hope it works out for ya down in sunny Tampa. I’ll be keeping your “The.”

2. Spring training is underway, and if you care, follow the analyses here, here, or here. This is the bestest time of year. Almost time for baseball joy, but no actual sucking yet.

You guys, I love baseball. I don’t know if I’ve emphasized that enough. I would anticipate a lot of never shutting up about it very soon.

3. Uh, sorry neighbors. Cleveland is number 4 on Forbes’ 10 most miserable cities in 2009. That’s higher than Flint, MI. Michael Moore made a whole movie about how miserable Flint is.

4. So, Mr. TR and I are looking for a new house (anyone wanna buy a little Cape Cod?), and one of the big pluses noted by a real estate agent about a house we were considering was its proximity to a new retail development. I was mildly annoyed by it (see the rant I just wrote about mixed-use neo-urban development), until I realized two things: a) this is an actual old urban building, the Nabisco plant; and b) we’d be so close to a gym, I might actually go.

Ha ha! I needed a gimmicky name for those posts where I have a bunch of stuff to touch on but none of it merits a whole essay.

1. OMG are you kidding me?? The city is officially renamed Sixburgh?? Who on the city council was brave enough to speak up and say, “Hey, this was such a good idea that Mayor Whateverstahl came up with, let’s do it for the whole city!” People, this is why the Steeler Nation sometimes gets laughed at. We go right up to the edge where it goes from “Woo hoo, we love our team so much!” to “SERIOUSLY???”, then jump right on over.

2. There is a sign hanging on the mixed-use condo/retail complex being built on the site of the old Concordia University that proclaims something like, “This structure being built by DRUG-FREE IronWorkers!”

I nearly spit my skinny cinnamon dolce latte out of my nose. This is what we’re worried about in Austin? That our ironworkers are on drugs? How about that we tore down a university to make condos?

I’ve been trying to take a picture of this sign, but it’s only visible from the interstate and traffic for some reason has been running freakishly smoothly.

3. Oh, The Santonio. Please stop getting noticed by anyone for anything. You know, except that Super Bowl MVP stuff. It’s pretty bad when folks can write retrospectives of every dumbass thing you’ve ever done. At least, the ones we know about so far.

4. Nine days until pitchers and catchers report. I wonder if we even have any pitchers this year. I’ll research.

5. Mr. TR and I have our tickets for a trip home next month to clean our recently vacated house. Despite the fact that I’m already having panic attacks about the state we’ll find the house in, Woo Hoo!